Minnow bucket



N. C. JACKSON Oct. 9, 1951 MINNOW BUCKET Filed Oct. 11, 1948 Inventor HWHIM Nolan 6. Jackson Fig. 4. 4mm

Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITE-o STATES A r NT MINNOW BUCKET Nolan 6. Jackson, Coalgate, Okla. Applicatiomoctober'll, 1948', Serial No. 53,878

3 Claims. (CI. 43-57),-

This: invention relates to new and useful improvements and structuralrefinements in minnow buckets, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate aerating of the water in thebucket, so as to v preserve the minnows therein in proper live condition over extended periods of time. I v

This objectis achieved by the provision of a minnow bucket wherein air from the atmosphere is drawn through the water contained in the bucket so that the water becomes aeratedthereby ina novel-manner.

An important feature of the. invention resides inthe provision of means for drawing air through the water inthe bucket, this means eliminating theuseoi pumpssuction lines connected to automobile manifolds, or the like, such as were conventionally employed to perform the same function. In fact, the aerating means employed in the. inventionembodies a conventional bellows which: is operatively connected to the. minnow bucketin such manner as to decrease the air pressure above the water therein and thereby draw in air from the atmosphere through the water, for the purpose of aerating same.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, conveni'ence of operation, andin' its adaptabilit to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and 7 features in view and such other objects and features asmay become apparent as this specification: proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the. arrangement and construction ofv parts as illustrated in the accompanying, drawings; in

. Figure 1 isan elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2-is a vertical crosssectional view taken on=theplane 2- 2 of Figure 4; n I

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3-3 in Figure 2, and.

Figure 4- is a topplan View of the invention.

hike characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a minnow bucket designated generally by the reference character ill, the same embodying in its construction a receptacle l2 which is adapted to be partially filled with water as indicated at M, to a level substantially as shown at It.

The upper end of the receptacle I2 is equipped with a removable cover [8, this being provided 21 Y withan outturned flange 2c and with. a gasket 22, for obvious reasons, that is, for the purpose of rendering: the positioning of the cover I28; orrth receptacle substantially airtight.

Moreover, the upper end portion of the receptacle H! may be. provided; with, a swingable bail equipped with a carrying handle 26, substantially as shown.

An: air inlet duct or tube 28 extends upwardly from below the water level it in the receptacle, I2 and is angulate'd at the upper end thereof to project outwardly from. the receptacle into communication with the atmosphere as indicated. at 30. Aloose fitting. cap oriclosure 3.2 may'be pro? vided on the outer end portion 30 of the duct 28, so that the rateof flow of air from the atmosphere into the tube as. indicated at 34 may be controlled; as desired.

Provided exteriorly at the bottom of the receptacle l.21is aicollapsible and. expansible air chamber'assuming; the form of. a substantially circular bellows 36, this being secured to the bottom of the: receptacle as at 3 8 and containing a compression; spring 40 which normally urges. theibellows to its expanded position, as will be clearly understood.

The bellows 36 is equipped with an exhaus-tzportor nozzle 42, the'latter', in turn, being provided with a looseefitting. cap M, similar to the aforementionedcaprn;

A suitable suction. line 46 connects thebellows 36 with the upper portion of the receptacle I21 abovethe water line Hi, and finally, it should be explained that the entire bucket is provided with a plurality of collapsible legs 48 which are hingedly connected to the receptacle l2 by suitable; brackets 50 and'are swingable from their extended positions shown in Figure 1 to. their. retracted; positions indicated by the. phantom lines 52 inithe same figure".

Whemthe/ invention is placedin-nse,thecap Q4 is removed from the exhaust port. 42 and the belilaws 3& collapsed bybeing pressed relative'to the; container-in. the direction of the arrow 54-,

which aCtiOH-ZWHI exhaust the: air from. the bel-v cover I8, minnows may be placed in the receptacle. In order to retain the bellows in its collapsed condition, the legs 48 may be collapsed relative to the receptacle, into the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, so that the weight of the receptacle and the water therein will compress the bellows between the bottom of the receptacle and the supportin surface below the bellows. The cover 18 should then, of course, be replaced, and the legs 48 moved into their extended positions, whereupon by loosening or completely removing the cover 32 from the end portion 30 of the air inlet duct 28, air from the atmosphere will be permitted to be drawn as indicated by the arrow 34 through the duct 28 into the receptacle 12, since the bellows 36, expanding by the resiliency of the spring 40, will withdraw air from the top portion of the receptacle l2 through the suction line 46 and, as a result, the air from the atmosphere drawn through the duct 28 will bubble through the water H in the receptacle 12, thus aerating the water as indicated at 55 and preserving the minnows in the receptacle in a live condition for a considerable period of time.

Needless to say, the duration of efiectiveness of the invention is governed by the rate of expansion of the bellows 36 and by the attendant rate of flow of the air from the atmosphere into the water through the duct 28, this, in turn, being effectively controlled by the adjustment of the cap 32, as Will be clearly apparent.

The aforementioned legs 48 are adapted at their lower ends for insertion in the ground so as to retain the entire bucket in upright position, and it is to be noted that these legs, when erected or extended, extend substantially below the expanded bellows 36, so that expansion of the bellows is facilitated. Obviously, when the legs are in their extended position, they will also serve to guide the bellows during the expansion thereof.

. It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A minnow bucket comprising a casing hav ing a liquid level, a detachable cover for said casing, said casing having a lower wall, a bellows attached to and supported by said lower wall, a suction conduit positioned within said casing and extending through said lower wall and communieating with the interior of said bellows, said suction conduit having an upper portion terminating below said cover and above the liquid level,

an air inlet conduit projecting through said casing above the liquid level and extending downwardly in said casing below the liquid level, and legs normally depending from the sides of said casing for supporting said casing and for guiding said bellows as the latter expands, said legs being movable out of supporting position whereby the weight of said bucket will contract said bellows.

2. A minnow bucket comprising a casing having a liquid level, a detachable cover for said casing, said casing having a lower wall, a bellows attached to and supported by said lower wall, a suction conduit positioned within said casing and extending through said lower wall and communicating with the interior of said bellows, said suction conduit having an upper portion termihating below said cover and above the liquid level, an air inlet conduit projecting through said casing above the liquid level and extending downwardly in said casing below the liquid level, means depending from the sides of said casing for supporting said casing'and for guiding said bellows as the latter expands, and means for controlling the flow of air through said inlet conduit.

3. A minnow bucket comprising a casing having a liquid level, a detachable cover for said casing, said casing having a lower wall, a bellows attached to and supported by said lower wall, a suction conduit positioned within said casing and extending through said lower wall and communieating with the interior of said bellows, said suction conduit having an upper portion terminating below said cover and above the liquid level, an air inlet conduit projecting through said casing above the liquid level and extending down- Wardly in said casing below the liquid level, means depending from the sides of said casing for supporting said casing and for guiding said bellows as the latter expands, and an exhaust valve on said bellows to selectively communicate said bellows with the atmosphere.

NOLAN C. JACKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 194,010 Stewart Aug. 7, 1877 385,456 Grasnick July 3, 1888 611,705 Obermann Oct. 4, 1898 724,539 Bourne Apr. 7, 1903 996,832 Campbell July 4, 1911 1,059,090 Roberts Apr. 15, 1913 2,007,326 Carpenter July 9, 1935 2,303,757 Pierson Dec. 1, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,152 Great Britain 1884 9,801 Germany Nov. 30, 1879 

